The Phenomenon of De-radicalization in Al Hidayah Boarding School, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia

The phenomenon of de-radicalization is a rare attempt in the study of terrorism. It is because institutions that specifically do so are still minimal, especially in educational institutions such as boarding school. In the case of Indonesia, Al Hidayah boarding school is the first in Indonesia to educate children from former terrorist families as well as for the poor. The questions related to the phenomenon are, what is the main background of the establishment of Al Hidayah Boarding School in Deli Serdang District? Why is this boarding school trying to educate the terrorists' children to anticipate the growing understanding of radicalism? This study attempts to answer the questions by using the qualitative method. Data collection methods applied are document studies, observation, and in-depth interviews. The findings of this study are the three backgrounds of the establishment of this boarding school. The first result shows the ideological change of the actors. The second outcome is the humanitarian reasons behind this, and the last one is as a de-radicalization role model. It is crucial to guide the terrorists' children because of five things. First, they are abandoned because their parents were imprisoned or died. Secondly, there is a negative stigma in society against children of terrorists. Third, they absorb the seed of radical ideology (spirited of terror) through their parents. Fourth, they tend to have the nature of hating the state and the security apparatus. The last one is because they have the potential to be recruited as terrorists. There are two theoretical implications of this study, namely, reinforcing Mia Bloom's theory that has explained the emergence of terrorists, and secondly, it rejects Mark Jurgensmeyer's theory which explains the strange relationship between religion and terrorism.